The IoT market is rapidly encroaching on the cellular world, but steps needs to be taken to make sure the two can work together.
Over the last two decades, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of devices designed and manufactured for cellular networks. A recent report by a U.S. market research group found there are 8.6 billion connected devices on the planet now. In fact, analysts and industry observers predict this number will skyrocket to 12 billion in three years. As a result, cellular carriers, seeing the potential to connect millions and possibly billions of “internet of things” devices, have created narrowband IoT channels such as Cat 1 LTE specifically for IoT and machine-to-machine device communications.
Typically, design teams focus primarily on the functional requirements of their devices, aiming to create higher margin, differentiated products. Unfortunately, a significant number of those products subsequently fail initial carrier certification tests resulting in costly rework and delays. The reasons for failure are numerous, which makes it important to understand not just the carrier’s exact requirements but also how to integrate those requirements from concept to product launch to ensure that new products pass required compliance tests.
If you’re charged with continuously maintaining a network of connected devices, it may be worth considering what the future of networks will be in an IoT-driven world. As we consider the wide-ranging initiatives – both market driven and industry driven – that affect the roadmap for IoT, there are certain initiatives that, on a closer look, represent the most obvious areas of impact and return, including “industry 4.0,” smart cities and the Food Safety Modernization Act.
The points below address key issues that must be considered in connection with each of these initiatives. Key issues include security, network capabilities, network protocols, energy usage and more.
Verifiable measures of ROI
Any IoT solution should be able to deliver a defined and measurable return on investment, such as revenue growth, projected cost savings, customer satisfaction, product design, enhancements or other metrics. This may seem obvious, but too often companies don’t have a firm grasp on the problem they are trying to solve.
Self-repairing networks
Cellular networks and devices must work together to provide updates on the health of the entire network. Each becomes more aware of its own state and transitions from reaction in a descriptive manner to providing predictive operations by identifying areas of weakness and proactively addressing them.
Adaptive design
Cellular networks, gateways, routers and sensors must assist in discovery. Once they understand causes and effects of cellular network operations, they can adapt accordingly for future implementations. This builds on the self-healing networks by providing insights into the devices themselves.
Protocol agnostic
Cellular devices in next-generation IoT networks are either extremely “fluent” and able to adapt to nearly every protocol or they act at a level of abstraction where protocols are irrelevant. Remember, a cellular device needn’t know all aspects of a protocol, only enough to get the job done.
Autonomous connectivity
Smarter IoT devices know when they should be open to interaction or when they should “detach” if the information within their purview is not essential or important. This drives communications efficiency and security. It is not about collecting lots of data – it’s about collecting the right data.
Energy self-aware
The cellular network and devices must be able to act in multiple modes based on operating conditions – to either be self-powered (battery), semi-self-powered (solar) or power-reliant (direct power source).
Rapid deployability
Recent cellular technology designs (pre-certifications and formation of industry standards, the promises of “plug-and-play”) are approaching reality. Those devices should become so self-directed and contained that implementation no longer relies on a technician’s expertise to tailor each implementation.
Inherent security
Digital-fingerprint verification can be applied in the security process where authentication and authorization become integral to the network. This extends beyond simple access control to true intrusion detection and immunity.
Environmentally expansive
To address a “cellular devices/networks-everywhere” world, we must apply aspects of environmental hardening (e.g. NEMA enclosures, temperature operating ranges, etc.) to underlying data highways (e.g. RF, cellular and wired). This takes us beyond simple prototypes to a truly scalable system.
Reportability
Cellular technologies and networks must deliver forensic capabilities that help create a history of performance to assist in any diagnostic needs.
The number of cellular devices and networks is set to consistently grow over the next few years, meaning IoT networks must evolve. The overarching initiatives driving the future of these cellular networks mandate some very specific features and capabilities for next-generation networks. This will help future-proof those cellular networks and help us achieve the promise of a connected world in a faster timeframe.
The effort to meet cellular carrier requirements is often overlooked. As a result, cellular compliance often trips up designers at the last minute and it’s not uncommon to see a high number of first-test failures. Modules, antenna selection and EMI controls are key hardware design functions that enable compliance success for cellular-enabled M2M devices.
Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Reality Check section is where C-level executives and advisory firms from across the mobile industry share unique insights and experiences.
